Complete Guide
Better Than Life
Series II, Episode 2
Recorded: 29.05.1988, BBC Manchester
First Broadcast: 13.09.1988 (BBC 2)
VHS Release: 02.03.1992 (BBCV 4749)
DVD Release: 10.02.2003 (BBCDVD 1118)
Blu-ray Release: 14.01.2019 (BBCBD 0441)
Written by Rob Grant & Doug Naylor
Directed by Ed Bye
Synopsis
It's cool! It's wild! It's Better Than Life - the new game sensation sweeping the solar system. Just dream and pleasure will be yours! Unless you have a mind like Rimmer's that is...
Cast
Chris Barrie (Rimmer), Craig Charles (Lister), Danny John-Jules (Cat), Norman Lovett (Holly), John Abineri (Rimmer's Dad), Debbie Ash (Marilyn Monroe), Jeremy Austin (Rathbone), Nigel Carrivick (The Captain), Tony Hawks (The Guide), Judy Hawkins (McGruder), Tina Jenkins (The Newsreader), Ron Pember (The Taxman), Gordon Salkilld (Gordon)
Did You Know?
The location shooting for this episode took place in Rhyl, North Wales - but inclement weather made answering the script's call for a tropical location harder than anticipated! Despite the cold, the scenes were achieved with outdoor shooting, removing the need for the backup plan of decamping to the inside of the Rhyl Sun Centre...
The scene in which Holly plays postal chess with another computer, Gordon, was re-filmed for the Remastered episode with a different actor. However, this footage ultimately went unused, before first being released on the Bodysnatcher Collection DVD.
